ADHD Reading is a Chrome extension that uses bionic reading, semantic bold, and focus highlighting to reduce visual clutter and help people with ADHD and other neurodivergent readers stay on track with long-form web content.
What is ADHD Reading?
ADHD Reading is a browser extension for Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Brave) that reformats web pages to make dense text easier to follow. You give it any article, email, or document rendered in HTML, and it produces a version with word-level emphasis, adjustable typography, and optional focus overlays, all without altering the original text content. The extension processes everything locally—no reading data leaves your device—and is available from the Chrome Web Store.
Key Features
- Bionic Reading — Bold the first parts of words to guide eye movement and reduce attention drift while reading.
- Semantic Bold — Highlight the most meaningful words in each sentence so key points stand out without extra noise.
- Semantic Highlight — Softly mark key phrases to speed up scanning and lower visual fatigue.
- Typography Controls — Fine-tune font size, line height, letter spacing, and paragraph width to create a comfortable reading environment.
- Preset Modes — Switch between Light, Medium, and Heavy presets calibrated for different focus levels.
- Focus Highlight — Dynamically illuminate the line or paragraph you're reading, blocking out sidebar distractions.
- Site Memory — Save per-site preferences and automatically apply them the next time you visit.
- 13 Languages — Supports Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, French, German, and more, with mixed-language detection.
Who is it for?
- Students — Read long academic papers and essays without rereading the same paragraph.
- Professionals — Process contracts, technical documentation, emails, and reports faster.
- Non-native readers — Improve comprehension when reading content in a second language.
- Anyone with attention difficulties — Reduce the mental effort needed to sustain focus on dense web pages.
What can you do with ADHD Reading?
- Long-form articles: Transform any webpage into a bionic reading format to cut down on skipped lines and mental fatigue.
- Technical documentation: Apply semantic bolding and focus overlay to engineering docs, making them easier to scan and reference.
- Email overload: Set typography and emphasis to your preference and let Site Memory auto-apply it to your inbox.
- Academic reading: Use the Light, Medium, or Heavy presets to power through research papers and textbooks with better retention.
How does ADHD Reading work?
After installing the extension, you click its icon on any webpage to open the settings panel. The extension analyzes the text and applies bionic/emphasis modes in real time using local processing. You can adjust sliders for typography and emphasis strength, and with Site Memory enabled, your chosen setup is saved for each website and automatically applied on return visits.
Pricing
ADHD Reading is freemium. A Free tier includes Bionic Reading, Semantic Bold, Semantic Highlight, and the Light/Medium/Heavy presets. Pro costs $29 per year (down from $99 during the 2026 New Year deal) and adds full typography controls, focus overlay settings, and auto-apply per site. A Lifetime plan is available for a one-time $59 payment, covering all Pro local features.
FAQ
Is ADHD Reading free?
Yes, the core features are free forever. You can use the three emphasis modes and the Light/Medium/Heavy presets without paying. Pro adds advanced typography and per-site memory for a yearly fee.
How is ADHD Reading different from a normal highlighter?
Standard highlighters just apply color. ADHD Reading identifies semantically important parts of words and phrases, bolds or highlights them, and gives you control over spacing and typography—so it reduces the visual crowding that makes long text hard to read.
Which browsers are supported?
The extension fully supports Google Chrome, Edge, Brave, and all Chromium-based browsers. It is not yet available for Safari or Firefox.
Does ADHD Reading support text-to-speech?
Yes, the extension includes built-in, high-quality TTS that works in multiple languages. This lets you "listen" to an article and rest your eyes when needed.
Is my reading data collected?
No. All processing happens locally on your device. Your reading history and settings are never sent to ADHD Reading's servers.
